Tag Archives: Dutch revolution against spain

The other day I reviewed the wonderful sixth book in Barbara Kyle’s Thornleigh series, called Queen’s Exiles! I was thrilled to find out she included some of the history of the Dutch resistance to Spain’s massive empire (and nasty overseer) during their control of the Netherlands during the Elizabethan Era. You can read that review HERE.

Today, Barbara has been so kind as to write a guest article in continuation of her tour of the blogosphere. Enjoy!

ELIZABETH I AND THE SEA BEGGARS
by Barbara Kyle

The Elizabethan period is considered a golden age. We picture England bursting with confidence and vigor, her queen triumphant and proud. But, in fact, at the beginning of Elizabeth’s reign in 1559 England was a small, weak country, standing alone. Philip II of Spain, the most powerful monarch in Europe, whose empire spanned half the globe, itched to conquer the island nation. By the second year of the young Queen Elizabeth’s reign, Philip set out to destroy her. Within a few years she was fighting for her life.

My new novel, The Queen’s Exiles, is set in 1572 when Spain’s armies were feared and triumphant throughout Europe. Nowhere were they more feared than in the Netherlands, which was suffering under Spain’s brutal occupation. To strike at England, Philip’s troops would sail from there, less than a hundred miles off Elizabeth’s shores.

With no standing army, and a small and underfunded navy, Elizabeth’s only weapons against her powerful Spanish adversary were her cleverness and courage. Taking a gamble, she extended safe conduct to a motley little fleet of Dutch privateers who had fled Spain’s occupation. These rebels called themselves the Sea Beggars and carried out raids on Spanish shipping. They play a major role in The Queen’s Exiles when my heroine, Fenella Doorn, joins their fight.

For several years Elizabeth allowed the Sea Beggars to make Dover and the creeks and bays along England’s south coast their home as they continued to harry Spanish vessels. This infuriated Philip. When his fury grew dangerous, Elizabeth ordered the Sea Beggars to quit her realm. It was assumed she expelled them to placate Philip, but it turned out that she had struck a powerful blow at Spain: by forcing out these fierce privateers she unleashed their latent power.

For a month the Sea Beggars wandered the Channel, homeless and hungry. Then, in April 1572, on the verge of starvation, they made a desperate attack on the Spanish-held Dutch port city of Brielle. They astounded everyone, even themselves, by capturing the city. The Sea Beggars’ victory provided the opposition’s first foothold on land and launched a revolution: the Dutch War of Independence against Spain. It took many more years, but the brave Dutch people finally gained their independence.

The rebel Sea Beggars’ fight is the backdrop of The Queen’s Exiles. I hope you enjoy the adventure.

Europe is in turmoil. A vengeful faction of exiled English Catholics is plotting to overthrow Queen Elizabeth and install her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots on the throne. And in the Netherlands the streets are red with the blood of those who dare to oppose the brutal Spanish occupation. But amid the unrest, one resourceful young woman has made a lucrative enterprise. Scottish-born Fenella Doorn salvages crippled vessels. It is on one of these ships that she meets wealthy Baron Adam Thornleigh. Secretly drawn to him, Fenella can’t refuse when Adam enlists her to join him in war-torn Brussels to help find his traitorous wife, Frances—and the children she’s taken from him. But Adam and Fenella will put their lives in peril as they attempt to rescue his young ones, defend the Crown, and restore a peace that few can remember. With eloquent and enthralling finesse, Barbara Kyle illuminates one of history’s grimmest chapters. The Queen’s Exiles breathes new life into an extraordinary age when love and freedom could only be won with unmitigated courage.

Barbara Kyle is the author of the acclaimed, internationally-published Thornleigh Saga novels which follow a middle-class English family’s rise through three tumultuous Tudor reigns:

The Queen’s Exiles Blood Between Queens The Queen’s Gamble The Queen’s Captive The King’s Daughter The Queen’s Lady

Barbara was a speaker in 2013 at the world-renowned Stratford Festival with her talk Elizabeth and Mary, Rival Queens and is known for her dynamic workshops for many writers’ organizations and conferences. Before becoming an author Barbara enjoyed a twenty-year acting career in television, film, and stage productions in Canada and the U.S.

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I'm the author of Breathe. Breathe., a dark poetry and fiction collection, published by Unnerving 2017, which debuted at #2 on the Amazon best-selling paid charts right behind NYT best-selling author Rupi Kaur's newest release and in the Amazon paid top five of horror short stories. I am a professional journalist, writer, editor, publicist and marketing and public relations professional, and former podcast co-host, with several bachelor degrees in Journalism, English, and History from a private university.
I have over twenty years experience in a wide variety of areas in my fields and I own/operate Addison's Compass Public Relations (ten years) and Hook of a Book Media (eight years). I love books, reading, writing, art, painting, photography, nature, baking, cooking, crafts with kids, yoga, magical stories, fairytales and castles, music, dance, history.
In addition to publishing Breathe. Breathe., I also have a story in the anthology Hardened Hearts, called "The Heart of the Orchard." My story from Breathe. Breathe., "Dandelion Yellow," has also been re-printed in Project Entertainment Network's anthology My Favorite Story, right after Brian Keene's. My poem "Chained by Love," was featured in the February 2018 issue of Enchanted Conversation: a fairy tale magazine. In the anthology Dark Voices, an all female TOC published in 2018 with proceeds going to breast cancer awareness, I have a poem called "Wrapped in Battle." This year I also spent time as a co-editor on a Gothic anthology Haunted Are These Houses. So far, 2019 has seen a poem published in The Siren's Call Magazine.
I have several books, collections, and poems in various genres in process and hope to get a lot more of my own writing completed within the next year.
I run Hook of a Book Media in which I specialize in public relations (PR) and marketing for authors in many forms, as well as work as a writing coach and editor. For three years I was an editor at Sinister Grin Press and performed marketing duties. Currently, I assist Raw Dog Screaming Press with publicity in addition to my Hook of a Book clients.
I also have always volunteered in my community and most recently spent the last two years as President of the Board of Directors for a growing mental health center and rape crisis domestic violence haven.
I have way too much going on and my head is often in the clouds.